/*
 *    Copyright 2010 Vanessa Williams
 *
 *    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 *    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 *    You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 *    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 *    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 *    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 *    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 *    limitations under the License.
 */

/*
 * CloseableIterator.java
 * Created on Mar 7, 2010
 */

package bioformatica.util;

import java.util.Iterator;

/**
 *
 * An iterator which can have only one instance open at any given time. The iterator must
 * be closed by one user before it can be used by another.
 *
 * @author vwilliams
 * @param <E>
 */
public interface CloseableIterator<E> extends Iterator<E> {

    /**
     * Close the iterator.
     * Release it to be used again, or by another thread.
     */
    public void close();

    /**
     *
     * @return true if iterator is open
     */
    public boolean isOpen();

    /**
     * Set open
     *
     */
    public void open();
}
